EPITAPH SIGNS SINGER-SONGWRITER FRANK TURNER

English punk turned folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner has signed to Epitaph Records with plans to release his third studio album, Poetry of the Deed, in September. The news comes on the heels of the recent announcement that the punk rock influenced bard will be performing his solo-acoustic act in front of his largest crowds ever when he tours North America in July in support of The Offspring.

Turner’s musical odyssey began at an early age and eventually gave rise to the UK hardcore band Million Dead, which disbanded in 2005. Towards the end of the band’s run, Turner began playing solo shows which were influenced heavily by his love of country, rock, punk and folk. This turned into a four year jaunt of non-stop touring which took him across Europe several times over and to the US, only stopping briefly to record an EP, Campfire Punkrock (2006) and his first album, Sleep Is For The Week, in 2007.

In 2008 Turner took a deep breath and recorded his second album, Love Ire and Song, released by Xtra Mile in the UK, which received rave reviews around the globe. “Fourteen tracks, 500 emotions, three chords, and the truth” (The Austin Chronicle), Turner’s heartfelt vocals and relevant lyrics boil over with fiery passion as he tackles themes of love and life with the honesty and poetry inherited from folk forbearers like Billy Bragg and Bob Dylan and all the angst of a kid reared on punk. After the release Turner stepped up to play European festivals, toured with Gaslight Anthem and packed venues at 2009 SXSW. It was Love Ire and Song which caught the ear of Epitaph Records’ founder and Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz and led to the eventual signing.

“Frank Turner’s music is a revelation to me,” says Gurewitz. “I can’t stop listening to it. It’s a real privilege to get out there and help Xtra Mile spread the Frank Turner gospel.”

In a signing that created a perfect pairing between the punk rock poet and a legendary independent label, the young singer-songwriter announced the news via Twitter and MySpace stating, “I signed with Epitaph for the world. Fuck yes!!”

“It’s been a little frustrating, the last year or two, trying to figure out the best way to get my stuff released properly in Europe and the USA,” says Turner. “I never imagined that it’d be Epitaph who would be releasing stuff though, as I thought they were out of my league. Now I feel like a nerd who just laid the head cheerleader. Being on Epitaph is the fucking bomb. And to top it all, I’ve been asked out on tour with one of the bands who introduced a whole generation of kids, myself included, to the illicit joys of punk rock. I have, essentially, peed myself. It’s going to be a good year!”

Epitaph Records will re-release Love Ire and Song in the US on July 21st. Stay tuned for more information regarding Frank Turner’s forthcoming album, Poetry of the Deed, coming this September.